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Starbucks has encouraged baristas in its shops across the Washington, D.C., area to write "Come Together" on coffee cups this week, to support the chain's push for a resolution to the looming "fiscal cliff." The chain doesn't sell ad space on its cups, but one estimate puts the value of the two-day campaign at $40,000.

The year 2003 marked a significant turning point for the Minneapolis/St. Paul dining scene with the opening of three high-end eateries, Cosmos, Restaurant Levain and Solera, says Minnesota Monthly editor Rachel Hutton. In this interview, she details the "golden decade" that followed, which brought ups and downs and put the Twin Cities on the culinary map.

Visitors and transplants craving holiday flavors from home or seeking exotic this season are likely to find what they're looking for in the diverse Christmastime menus at New York City restaurants. Treats including traditional Jamaican hibiscus punch at MangoSeed, julskinka and gravlax from Sweden at Aquavit and heaping plates of roast pork, rice and plantains at Sofrito.

More than a third of U.S. consumers will return gifts this year, and 57% of them will ship the gifts rather than schlep to stores, according to a survey by FedEx. The company expects returns to send post-Christmas shipping business about 25% higher.